SPOKANE — Three members of the white supremacist group Patriot Front pleaded not guilty in Kootenai County District Court Monday afternoon to conspiracy to riot during a Pride event in Coeur d’Alene on June 11.
Garret J. Garland, 23, of Freeburg, Illinois; Branden M. Haney, 35, of Kaysville, Utah; and Forest C. Rankin, 28, of Wheat Ridge, Colorado, all appeared before Judge John Cafferty Monday over Zoom.
Thirty-one members of the alt-right group were discovered in the back of a U-Haul truck less than a quarter-mile from the North Idaho Pride in the Park’s annual celebration, which they intended to disrupt, according to court documents. The members donned matching blue shirts, khaki shorts, white balaclavas and baseball caps, and police found protective gear, shields, a smoke grenade and paperwork that appeared to be an operations plan in the U-Haul.
Six other members have already appeared in Kootenai County District Court and entered not guilty pleas. The remaining members of the 31 arrested in June are scheduled to be arraigned by the end of August.